_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Swallow the Sun ::\ :: Album :: Shining :: :: Year :: 2024 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Urubuz Records R.date :: 2024-12-18 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: UBZ#231 S.date :: 2024-08-18 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 262kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 98.22 MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Innocence Was Long Forgotten 4:22 :: :: 2. What I Have Become 4:08 :: :: 3. MelancHoly 3:40 :: :: 4. Under the Moon & Sun 6:11 :: :: 5. Kold 3:49 :: :: 6. November Dust 6:17 :: :: 7. Velvet Chains 3:19 :: :: 8. Tonight Pain Believes 4:16 :: :: 9. Charcoal Sky 4:50 :: :: 10. Shining 8:52 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 49:44 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: Okay, letÆs get this off my chest right off the bat. When the :: :: news about Dan Lancaster being the producer of the new SWALLOW :: :: THE SUN album first caught my attention, I honestly did not :: :: know what to think of it. I mean, it took me quite a long time :: :: to get my head around the new sound of, say, BRING ME THE :: :: HORIZON, to which he made a hefty contribution production-wise. :: :: Here, we werenÆt talking about MUSE or BLINK-182 but the grand :: :: masters of Finnish death-doom, for fuckÆs sake! Yeah, sure, the :: :: band has been expanding their sound into lighter and somewhat :: :: more Gothic realms for quite some time already and the results :: :: have been poignantly impressive with each new installment. :: :: Still, when the first single, ôInnocence Was Long Forgotten,ö :: :: was released ahead of the album, in the summer, I must admit to :: :: having approached it with extra caution. While the song turned :: :: out to be a majestic beast, featuring all the signature quirks :: :: of these gloomsters, the use of AutoTune, for example, filled :: :: me with a subtle sense of foreboding. IÆm not categorically :: :: against the idea of bands refining their signature sound but, :: :: frankly, I wasnÆt really sure that going for the mainstreamish :: :: pop-metal aesthetic would suit this band particularly well. So, :: :: when the bandÆs ninth studio album, ôShining,ö came out on :: :: October 18th, 2024, via Century Media, I approached it with :: :: even more caution. What if this endeavor would turn out to be :: :: the first-ever SWALLOW THE SUN outing to disappoint me?! That :: :: would be something completely unheard of, considering what a :: :: gut punch of an album the previous effort, ôMoonflowers,ö :: :: (2021) was, let alone the fact that this band boasts one hell :: :: of a flawless back catalog. :: :: :: :: The first summer single opens the album with an almost :: :: schlager-like mood, albeit one thatÆs remarkably dark and :: :: Gothic. The first thing that made me prick my ears when the :: :: single came out was the somewhat slicker and more polished :: :: overall sound. The melodies do resonate with the familiar :: :: SWALLOW THE SUN aura and the mood is very similar to the :: :: lighter tracks on their 2019 album ôWhen a Shadow is Forced :: :: into the Light.ö Still, the production û the AutoTuned vocals :: :: in the chorus, in particular û felt a bit strange, at first, to :: :: be honest. Now, having conditioned myself to the new sound, the :: :: initial shock has worn off and the song has grown onto me :: :: rather nicely. The song has a good pinch of KATATONIA infused :: :: in its wistful melodies, a bit like ôThis Cut is the Deepestö :: :: had on their 2012 album ôEmerald Forest and the Black Bird.ö :: :: :: :: The album opener is followed by the next single, ôWhat Have I :: :: Become,ö and I guess it was placed as the second track û as :: :: well as released as the second single û because it features :: :: some harsh vocals and heavier riffs almost as if to remind us :: :: that û no! û SWALLOW THE SUN isnÆt going pop all the way! :: :: Peculiarly enough, the chorus is one of the catchiest on the :: :: album, and the more I listen to it, the more convinced I become :: :: that this is one of the tightest bangers in this selection. The :: :: balance between the catchy choruses and heavier stuff is just :: :: pristine. It sure helps that, in the growled vocal department, :: :: vocalist Mikko KotamΣki is one of the most impressive metal :: :: vocalists around. :: :: :: :: Next, released as the third single, ôMelancHolyö gears up on :: :: the pop aesthetic even more. The atmospheric verses traverse :: :: familiar waters and, yet, there is a glimmer of hope, both in :: :: the melodies and the lyrics, that shines perhaps a few notches :: :: brighter than what we have been accustomed to when it comes to :: :: this death-doom squad. Upon the release of this album, I came :: :: across some YouTube reaction videos in which people claimed :: :: that it was next to impossible to listen through those earlier :: :: albums in one go because the heaviness is so opaque, whereas :: :: this new endeavor is much less challenging in this respect. :: :: Well, IÆve never had that problem but, then again, IÆm a Finn. :: :: During the first couple of spins, I must admit that I slightly :: :: missed that impenetrable heaviness now and then but, to give :: :: credit where it is due, this new lighter aesthetic does suit :: :: the band rather well. The songcraft hasnÆt changed that much û :: :: the melodies still resonate thick with the bandÆs signature :: :: aura and the balance between the light and the dark works :: :: wonders. :: :: :: :: Perhaps a little disclaimer is in order here û old-school fans :: :: need not fear that the band has gone awry altogether. At its :: :: lightest, this new album showcases the band reaching such :: :: lightness that we havenÆt experienced before despite all the :: :: lighter tracks on those previous albums. The heavier stuff :: :: might not come off just as heavy as the band used to be û not :: :: at first, at least û but there are plenty of heavy riffs and :: :: growls, too. ôCharcoal Sky,ö for one, nods toward the :: :: black-metal aesthetic rather remarkably, almost as if to drive :: :: the point home that SWALLOW THE SUN still arenÆt pulling any :: :: punches. :: :: :: :: I heard that the band calls their new endeavor ôthe Black Album :: :: of Death Doomö and they could be right on the money û their new :: :: sound is remarkably more radio-friendly and will probably lure :: :: a wealth of new fans while rubbing some of the older fans the :: :: wrong way, just like that colossal METALLICA offering did back :: :: in 1991. I sure wish that SWALLOW THE SUNæs new effort will :: :: prove just as influential and successful because, letÆs be :: :: frank here, after the initial shock, this new, softer approach :: :: actually sounds pretty damn good. I guess it speaks volumes :: :: about the bandÆs songcraft. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2024 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :